The growing pains of transitioning to ICD-10 can only be surpassed by the pain of adding a slew of new codes that are far from the standard run of the mill ones you utilize every day.
Among the 68,000 new ICD-10-CM diagnosis and procedure codes (compared to 18,000 in ICD-9), CMS has created ICD-10 codes that are considered by some to be among the most bizarre. In fact, Power Your Practice has gone one step further to create the “Awards for the Most Bizarre ICD-10 codes.”
Bizarre or not, these more specific codes are provided as an example of how much more detailed coding is becoming. They also underscore the need for special outsourced ICD-10 expertise in healthcare revenue cycle management to successfully make a smooth transition in your medical practice coding, billing and collections.
And the awards go to:
In the Animal category:
Bronze: Bitten by a turtle – W5921XS
Silver: Bitten by sea lion – W5611XD
Gold: Struck by macaw – W6112XA
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In the Water Sports category:
Bronze: Hit or struck by falling object due to accident to canoe or kayak – V9135XA
Silver: Civilian watercraft involved in water transport accident with military watercraft – V94810
Gold: Burn due to water-skis on fire – V9107XA (Evel Knievel is reborn!)
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In the Strange Places category:
Bronze: Hurt at the library – Y92241
Silver: Hurt at swimming pool of prison as the place of occurrence – Y92146
Gold: Hurt at the opera – Y92253
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In the Air/Space Category:
Bronze: Prolonged stay in weightless environment – X52
Silver: Unspecified balloon accident injuring occupant – V9600XS
Gold: Spacecraft crash injuring occupant – V9542XA
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In the Just Plain Weird Category:
Bronze: Hurt walking into a lamppost – W2202XA
Silver: Stabbed while crocheting – Y93D1
Gold: Unspecified event, undetermined intent – Y34
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Your ICD-10 preparation requires an industry insider for your medical coding and billing, offering the full extent of support your team needs to complete conversion by Oct. 1, 2014 .
revMD.com is the results-proven alternative for physician medical billing, with a niche specialization in coding, billing and compliance that generates unprecedented results and builds profitable medical practices. Leveraging a history of industry wide success spanning 25 years, revMD.com partners with medical practices throughout the U.S. to optimize revenue for hospital based and community based physicians. For more information, visit www.revmd.com.